The dark story of Runes of Magic: Chapter IV - Lands of Despair
In 'Chapter IV - Lands of Despair', the next chapter of Runes of Magic, you will be lured into a dark and forbidding new world. The Land of Malevolence has been ravaged by a deadly plague, which threatens to cast this new region into utter turmoil. Many of the people inhabiting this region have been struck down with an unknown illness, and the only hope for them are the curative effects of a curious 'Divine Fruit' available only from a travelling merchant. But this merchant is not quite what he seems - he is in fact none other than the fearsome and devious Demon Sismond, who spread this pestilence and is slowly but surely turning the region's people into mindless zombies.
Sismond's first objective was to seek out the Grafu family who bore Annelia, the young girl with a congenital heart condition. When Sismond arrived at the Grafu family castle, he found that Annelia's condition had not improved to any great extent - she was still weak and her father, helpless. The merchant promised help and advised that the feeble Annelia be given a heart forged from runes. However, Lord Grafu would not entrust his daughter's life to the demon and decided to sacrifice his own heart to save his beloved daughter. When she awoke to find her father lying listlessly on the floor, Sismond and his Fruits of the Gods made light work of manipulating her to his desires. He then implanted the rune heart into her father's chest, which caused him to stir. Alas, he had lost all trace of humanity.
However, this was but the first step in his diabolical plan. His next goal was to infect all the races of the region, including the Fireboot Dwarves and the Rhino people of the Kalo Kingdom. These two races found themselves facing each other on the battlefield after Sismond brought one of the Dwarves under his control and had him murder Lanaik, son of a Lord of Kalon. Both sides are sending their armies and massive war machines to battle and are engaged in a fierce struggle for dominance of the region. However, only one seems to be profiting from the war - none other than Sismond himself. His devoted followers scour the battlefields for the corpses of the fallen and bring them to the Demon's secret hideout, where he is making preparations for the final battle.
Nothing seems to be able to put a stop to Sismond's diabolical plans. Several villages have become addicted to his Fruits of the Gods, Undead creatures roam freely, bringing chaos, fear, and terror wherever they go, and the rampaging Fireboots and Kalon ensure a steady supply of corpses for the Demon's covert experiments. Sismond has sent out vast swathes of scouts to patrol the land, and Annelia is proving to be a most powerful apprentice. It is now up to players to restore the peace in this troubled region by tackling the zombie plague and challenging Annelia to a deathmatch.
Sharpen your blades, dust off those arcane spellbooks and load up your quivers in preparation for Chapter IV. Sismond will show no mercy.
